Michelle Obama drops high school graduation speech after Kansas students protest
Petition signed by more than 1,750 people.
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Kansas high school students would rather have their families attend their graduation than the First Lady of the United States.
Michelle Obama had been invited by the Topeka public school district to speak at a combined graduation for five schools. Yet the First Lady’s visit would have limited the number of family members each student could invite to six.
A petition, started by eighteen-year-old Taylor Gifford, urged the school district to change its plans. It was signed by more than 1,750 people. Obama canceled her plans to speak at the graduation and will now be addressing a separate event the day before.
“Once we learned about the concerns of some students, we were eager to find a solution that enabled all of the students and their families to celebrate the special day,” said a spokesperson for the First Lady.
While the students’ willingness to question the First Lady’s visit might seem surprising, their priorities are not historically unusual. Someone like Thomas Jefferson or Calvin Coolidge would balk at the degree of imperial adoration that is paid to the office and family of contemporary presidents.
In recent years, Kansas has distinguished itself as having a particular willingness to stand up to the federal government. Its Second Amendment Protection Act, for instance, exempts Kansan firearms from “any federal law, regulation, or authority.”
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